Respect is earned. I respect basic human rights of the individual. Everyone has the right to believe whatever they want to. I am under no obligation to respect beliefs that are just plain wrong.
I mock religion. I have reasons for doing that. One is to demonstrate that I do not take that shit seriously. At all. I make fun of holy texts, rituals, icons, doctrines, sacred mythologies, traditions etc. because I want to make it clear that I reject this stuff in its entirety. Hell, for example, is a joke. I make fun of it to demonstrate that I am aware of the fact that it does not exist. I make fun of gods, Bigfoot, pyramid power, astrology, mediums, etc. equally because they are all equally stupid. I'm an equal opportunity mocker.
I do not think that believing in stupid things is harmless. It is damaging on an individual level as well as societal. In the country I live in, it is the Christian fundamentalist, evangelical, right-wing that is the biggest threat to our freedom. That is why I pick on them the most.
I mock religion. I have reasons for doing that. One is to demonstrate that I do not take that shit seriously. At all. I make fun of holy texts, rituals, icons, doctrines, sacred mythologies, traditions etc. because I want to make it clear that I reject this stuff in its entirety. Hell, for example, is a joke. I make fun of it to demonstrate that I am aware of the fact that it does not exist. I make fun of gods, Bigfoot, pyramid power, astrology, mediums, etc. equally because they are all equally stupid. I'm an equal opportunity mocker.
I do not think that believing in stupid things is harmless. It is damaging on an individual level as well as societal. In the country I live in, it is the Christian fundamentalist, evangelical, right-wing that is the biggest threat to our freedom. That is why I pick on them the most.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste -- don't pollute it with bullshit.